OK! After some reading and a few minutes of research on the theme, I have come up with an idea for an art installation. Its a play on the fact that in today's society most rights of passage are religious based. Anyhow here is the plan:

You start with two doors with a rusty worn out iron gate painted on them, which open up into a dark tunnel approximately 15-20ft long. In this tunnel white LEDs light up and pulsate along the path. At the end of the tunnel another pair of doors, similar to the ones you entered through, lead into what appears to be a small church like building. Church bells echo through speakers, and stained glass which portray the man and several other key factors of burning man are placed on the four walls around you including the ceiling. Ahead of you is another pair of doors, this time with new and golden gaits. Again leading to another tunnel, however this tunnel is illuminated with several colored LEDs each more vibrant and colorful that the last. Until you once again reach a pair of doors, which open up to face the man himself on top of his base.

The installation is meant to take you through your own passage from the world that you live now, and into the world that is: Burning Man

The installation is meant to take you through your own passage from the world that you live now, and into the world that is: Burning Man

Beg off on the religious aspect. Too structured. Too... predictable. But not for want of theatricality. For anyone interested in archetypal inspiration I'd suggest reading over a few books by Joseph Campbell.

In terms of an art installation I thought the two door/hallway idea would be a good one but instead of them leading to the same place one could lead to a light room/happy place and the other to a darker more sinister place. Maybe there could be choices along the corridor and depending on which decision you make you end up in the light or dark room.

I think rites of passage are usually associated with moving forward in life, but it doesn't always have to be a positive result. Although I'm not too sure if it would be a good idea because it would probably freak people out to go into the bad room, and the environment/feeling at burning man is so positive, bringing a dark situation to it seems wrong.

Although I did have an idea for an art installation in which you enter into a very dark room (a sort of sensory deprivation chamber) with very little light and only womb like sounds and are in that room long enough (either by making some kind of maze that takes a while to get through or just hoping people will stay in long enough to get the full effect) so that when you exit you are bombarded with the lights and sounds of the playa and can re-experience birth. I haven't gone over a lot of the details, like maybe some kind of elastic plastic wall with a small hole that you have to crawl out of to get out of the chamber, and how you could let new ppl into the chamber without disturbing the experience of the ppl already inside, but I just think that birth could arguably be the greatest rite of passage (aside from death.. which could also be done in an art installation probably) that it would be wonderful to try and replicate the experience.

Virginburner15 wrote:stained glass which portray the man and several other key factors of burning man are placed on the four walls

I would avoid the use of glass, because the kind of MOOP it can end up becoming: tiny little shards that somebody ends up having to sift out of dust that can, if the year is dry enough, end up well over a foot deep. Not fun.

Plastic might work, as long as you remember to remove the windows before you burn the structure. Good, stiff colored paper, especially if it is soaked in grease, might also work as a burnable glass substitute, I would think. I seem to recall that poor southern families made windows out of that in the past, so it might let as much light through as you need.

I've been working on a very similar idea. A simple opening in a large 8'x8' wall that leads you into complete darkness requiring you to feel your way through the maze that forces you to crawl, to climb, walk upright and squeeze through narrow spaces. Can get very intense in a very short amount of time so by the time you have reached the end there is a huge sense of relieve and accomplishment depending how challenging your fears are to you.

If you dug a hole through the center of the earth,and jumped in, would you stay at the center because of gravity?